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Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many businesses remain open to provide essential services to their communities.

One such store is Sim’s Market, 2401 Walbert Ave., South Whitehall Township.

Owner Raj Patel and manager Bruce Schlegel spoke with The Press May 28 about how the health emergency has affected the market, and what steps the store has taken to continue providing patrons with groceries and other goods.

The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley’s “Breakfast With Champions” virtual series, highlighting the contributions of dedicated volunteers from around the Lehigh Valley, continued April 21-27 with a new set of nominees for several recognition categories — “Organizational Advocate,” “Retired Volunteer of the Year,” “Transformational Volunteer,” “Volunteer Leader” and “Volunteer Team.”

A new initiative to address the crisis of veteran homelessness in the Lehigh Valley was recently unveiled by local leaders, government officials and community partners at the Lehigh County Government Center, Allentown.

Lehigh County Office of Veterans Affairs Director Tom Applebach announced the creation of the Lehigh Valley Homeless Veteran Fund.

Additionally, he announced that state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th, had secured $200,000 in grants for the fund.

Gov. Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar held a public livestream May 4 to provide an update on Pennsylvania’s June 2 primary election, discuss protective measures for in person voting and encourage Pennsylvanians to cast their ballots by mail.

“From where we stand today, it is unlikely we’ll eradicate COVID-19 from our commonwealth by June 2, but we still need to hold a primary election,” Wolf said. “Free and fair elections are essential to who we are as a country, and democracy is perhaps even more than ever during times of crisis.”

During the board president’s report portion of the virtual May 13 Northwestern Lehigh School Board meeting, Willard Dellicker acknowledged the meeting would be difficult as the district would be furloughing some teaching and support staff due to decreased enrollments and duty reorganizations.

He also noted the district’s proposed 2020-2021 budget, which reflects anticipated reductions in revenues brought on by COVID-19, would require a tax increase to maintain existing programs.

Student instruction will continue despite coronavirus school closures, Pennsylvania’s secretary of education said during a media telebriefing at the beginning of April.

Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said he has set “really strong and high expectations” that Pennsylvania schools provide continuing education and instruction to homebound students during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The briefing came on the heels of Gov. Tom Wolf’s order on that same day to extend school closures for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year due to COVID-19.

As the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley’s monthlong “Breakfast With Champions” virtual series continues to highlight exceptional volunteers across the region, a new round of nominees for the “Most Reliable” and “Organizational Advocate” categories were celebrated April 14-20.

Jan O’Keefe was recognized as a “Most Reliable” volunteer contender for her dedication to the NORWESCAP Food Bank and the group’s thrift store, the Traditions Family Success Center, where she performs a wide variety of tasks.